STRENGTHEN THE PARTY’S WORK WITH PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATIONS

STRENGTHEN THE PARTY’S WORK WITH PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATIONS*

July 6, 2015

The central Party leadership has made an overall plan for its work with people’s organizations in the new era, and we must implement it in full. Here I would like to share my views on some priorities, the most important of which is to maintain and strengthen the political commitment and pioneering nature of people’s organizations, and their connection with the people. 

First, we must maintain and reinforce political commitment in the Party’s work with people’s organizations. Political commitment is the soul of people’s organizations. Deviation from it will distance people’s organizations from the leadership of the Party, compromise their aspirations, reduce them to mundane groups, and even lead them astray. Therefore, we must pay close attention to this issue.

To maintain and reinforce political commitment in the Party’s work with people’s organizations, it is essential that people’s organizations conscientiously uphold CPC leadership, which guarantees success in our work with people’s organizations. It is the right direction, and a great tradition to be honored. As Deng Xiaoping said, “The Communist Youth League of China can make many mistakes, but there is one mistake it should never make, that is to turn away from the Party’s leadership.”

People’s organizations should always place themselves under the leadership of the Party and align themselves with the CPC Central Committee in thinking, action and political orientation. They should respect the authority of the Central Committee, implement the Party’s will and propositions, abide by political discipline and rules, and be able to withstand any trials and tribulations. They should have a clear-cut and robust stance on major matters of principle, and take the lead at critical moments.

I am emphasizing this point because reality dictates the need. Hostile forces both at home and abroad simply cannot tolerate the resounding success of Chinese socialism that “is beyond compare”, long-term CPC rule in China, or China’s national rejuvenation. We must not be naive about this. Against this background, some people have tried to turn our people’s organizations into an issue, questioning or disputing the Party’s leadership over these organizations and cooking up all sorts of fallacies. We must realize that our struggle with hostile forces is prolonged, complex and fierce. In this serious political battle, people’s organizations must not hang back; rather, they should take the initiative and make their voices heard.

Political commitment in the Party’s work with people’s organizations is best manifested when trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations guide the people to implement the Party’s instructions and follow its leadership, and when they contribute to consolidating the class foundation and popular support for the Party’s governance. This is the fundamental difference between people’s organizations and other social organizations and should be the political criterion to judge whether our work with people’s organizations is successful. 

Jiang Zemin once said, “It must be understood that our people participate in Party-led reform, opening up, and modernization programs, which serve their interests. Only by having faith in and relying on the people and giving full play to their initiative and creativity can we succeed.” For people’s organizations, those who can unite the people around the Party in the closest and most extensive way are doing a good job; otherwise, they are doing a bad job. This is the criterion we should adopt to evaluate our work with people’s organizations; it cannot be neglected at any time, still less be downplayed or abandoned.

To maintain and strengthen political commitment in the Party’s work with people’s organizations, we must steer the course and guide the direction, and never make any mistakes that betray the Party’s basic guidelines. The development path of the people’s organizations demonstrates the efforts of the Party in building Chinese socialism. It is a path formed and developed by the Party over long years of experience in the development of trade unions, youth movements, and women’s federations with the characteristics of Chinese socialism. This conforms to our national conditions and the historical development trend. 

To do a good job with people’s organizations, we must unswervingly follow this path and meet the following requirements: maintain the Party’s leadership over people’s organizations; ensure that they serve as a bridge and bond between the Party and the people; accomplish the central task of economic development and serve the overall interests of the country; uphold the lifeline of serving the people; keep abreast with the times and persevere in reform and innovation; and remain independent and self-reliant in their work according to the law and their charters. We must also ensure that people’s organizations subscribe to the Party’s leadership, unite and serve the people in their respective scopes of work, and operate according to the law and their charters.

We should uphold the Party’s leadership and support people’s organizations in independently conducting their work according to the law and their charters. The two are inseparable and indispensable. Without the Party’s leadership, people’s organizations will lose their way and their ethos. For example, when “vanguardism” prevailed in the Youth League in its early years, the League nearly risked rejecting the Party’s leadership. Upholding the Party’s leadership will in no way prejudice the role of people’s organizations. On the contrary, the Party will support them in better fulfilling their functions, which in turn will help the Party to exercise its leadership and reach out to the people.

For people’s organizations, upholding the Party’s leadership does not mean losing their own initiative while mimicking Party and government institutions only. Should they do that they would not be themselves. At present, the major problems with some people’s organizations are procrastination, inaction, and lack of initiative and creativity. This might be attributable to the following: First, some Party organizations are reluctant to let people’s organizations initiate activities for fear of inviting trouble, which ends up stifling their initiative. Second, for the same reason, some people’s organizations think it safer to copy every step of the Party, seeking neither merits nor demerits. 

I should make my points clear on this problem. One, Party organizations should encourage and guide people’s organizations, giving full scope to their initiative. We should not assume that events they stage might cause trouble. Two, people’s organizations should take a proactive approach to work and play their role. They should not just shout slogans without doing solid work. If you fail to translate the Party’s will and views into actions that are good for the people through hard work, you are not upholding the Party’s leadership, nor doing your job properly.

Second, we must maintain and strengthen the pioneering nature of people’s organizations. We require our Party to be always pioneering. Then is it appropriate to have the same requirement for people’s organizations? My answer is yes. Trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations are people’s organizations under the Party’s direct leadership, shouldering the great responsibility of mobilizing the public to accomplish the Party’s central task. How could they do this without a pioneering spirit? It is not easy to ask every single member of every people’s organization to be a pioneer, but people’s organizations as a whole, with tens or hundreds of millions of members, must focus on maintaining and strengthening their pioneering nature. 

Our trade unions undertake the mission of leading the working class in following the leadership of the Party and making them the most solid and reliable foundation of the Party. They should never become the so-called independent trade unions of the West. Our Communist Youth League, a people’s organization of forward-thinking young people, and an aide to and reserve force of the Party, should in no case become an unauthorized youth group or a group with highly charged political views or representing bizarre interests like some of those in the West. The Youth League is a huge organization as almost all junior high school students can become its members before they graduate. If its members lack a sense of belonging and honor and a pioneering spirit, the League will lose cohesion, like a heap of loose sand. Our women’s federations, also a people’s organization under the leadership of the Party, must commit themselves to rallying all women closely around the Party. They should never become a feminist organization or a club for upper class women like those abroad.

To maintain and strengthen their pioneering nature, people’s organizations should always bear in mind the theme of our times, i.e. to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, serve the overall interests of the Party and the country, mobilize the people to advance in the forefront of the times, and make contributions on the front line of reform, development and stability. They must let the more advanced lead the less advanced, replace ignorance and backwardness with cultural progress, and combat the false, the evil and the ugly with the true, the good and the beautiful. They must educate and guide the people to improve their theoretical and moral awareness, stick to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, champion the core socialist values, and become the strong backer, powerful supporter and profound social foundation for the Party in its governance.

To maintain and strengthen their pioneering nature, people’s organizations should always share the same stance with the Party and the people, take on the Party’s cares and concerns, and work for the wellbeing of the people. They should help raise people’s political awareness in all their activities, organize, educate and guide the people, carry out more awareness-raising activities among the people, and strive to unite the people, build consensus, pull their strength together, resolve conflicts, improve relationships, and stimulate motivation. They should become pioneers and working forces among the people, at the grassroots and at the forefront, to increase cohesion and mobilize the people to firmly subscribe to the Party’s leadership and defend our socialist system. Simply put, there are two important requirements for people’s organizations: one, great cohesion to unite the people; two, a powerful capacity to stand up to all challenges.

We must act on our promise to serve the people and be the protectors of their rights and interests. People’s organizations anywhere should promptly come forward and speak for the people when their legitimate rights and interests are infringed upon. At the same time, their job is not just functionary or to provide services only. More importantly, they should fulfill their political responsibilities to consolidate our public base and win popular support. They should not allow organizations and people with ulterior motives to vie for public support. All this depends on their capacity to win. Party committees and governments at all levels must give people’s organizations more and greater support to win the people’s trust.

As I have mentioned, the internet has become a primary ideological battleground flooded with public opinions and messages of all types. It is difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood on this platform. But if the right is not told, the wrong will take hold. I made it clear at a meeting with the new leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League that we should pay attention to both visible and invisible targets in our work. It is incumbent on the Youth League to strengthen internet management, spread mainstream values online, and win this cyberspace battle. Not long ago, hundreds of thousands of League members posted messages online to denounce a small number of people who had defamed revolutionary martyrs like Qiu Shaoyun. In the end, good prevailed over evil. Well done. 

Trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations must step up their work in cyberspace to make our voices heard, clarify ambiguous concepts, and refute erroneous statements, so that the people can find them online and participate in their activities. We have a total of 87.8 million Party members, over 280 million trade union members, more than 89 million Youth League members, and also women who “hold up half the sky”. If each of them posts a message online, it will have a huge impact. Officials and core members of people’s organizations should temper themselves in the invisible battle on the internet, a very important battleground that people’s organizations must defend.

Third, we must maintain and strengthen people’s organizations’ connection with the people, which is their defining quality. Without it, they will easily become hollow, bureaucratic organizations. Lenin once said, “The idea of building communist society exclusively with the hands of the Communists is childish, absolutely childish. We Communists are but a drop in the ocean, a drop in the ocean of the people.” In the work and activities of people’s organizations, the people should be leading actors rather than the supporting cast or audience. If the public are indifferent to these organizations, they will not participate in their activities, which will reduce their scope of influence. In the end, it will weaken the foundations of people’s organizations.

To maintain and strengthen their connection with the people, people’s organizations must avoid focusing only on the elite to the neglect of the common people. You should pay careful attention to and do more for the common people. You must not isolate yourselves from the people, ignore their needs or lose touch with them. Instead, you should pay frequent visits to them, have face-to-face and heart-to-heart contacts with them, and develop sincere relationships with them. You should know what the people really need instead of taking wild guesses. You must find out their real concerns and provide more urgently needed services, rather than holding unwelcome activities. You must have a very good knowledge of the people’s common needs and prevailing problems, and refuse to sugarcoat your overall work performance with individual successful cases of services and rights protection.

To maintain and strengthen their connection with the people, people’s organizations must intensify their effort to improve their organization, particularly at the grassroots. The people are rallied and united through organization, and the grassroots-level units are the first to reach the people. Over the years, a complete organizational system has been put in place within trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations. At present, there are a total of 2.8 million grassroots organizations, and over 200,000 support centers and stations functioning under trade unions, over 3.8 million grassroots organizations under the Communist Youth League, and about one million grassroots organizations and over 700,000 rural and urban Women’s Homes under women’s federations. They constitute a massive organizational network at the grassroots level for the Party to serve the people, a feat unrivaled by any other party in the world. 

Meanwhile, we must not fail to see the salient problem of inadequate coverage by people’s organizations with the emergence of diverse forms of employment, lifestyles and ways in which people gather. Trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations are generally accessible in Party and government bodies, state-owned enterprises, public institutions, and rural and urban communities. But they do not cover all the new sectors such as non-public economic entities and New Social Groups, despite all the work we have done over these years – setting up many branches of people’s organizations, with publicly available data and reports. As there are still quite a few fields or sectors not covered, our work is still not satisfactory, and many people at the grassroots are still unable to access these people’s organizations. 

I emphasized at a meeting with the new leadership of All-China Federation of Trade Unions that trade unions should actively expand their coverage. At present, in some places our trade unions do not have immense appeal to some people, young employees and migrant workers in particular. Activities they have staged are not as popular as some of those launched by non-governmental organizations. As I stated at the meeting with the new leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, there are many capable and influential young people in new economic entities, new social organizations and communities, and cyberspace; among migrant workers, self-employed people, netizens, Beijing drifters, and the “ant tribe”; and particularly among emerging groups such as freelancers, online opinion leaders, internet writers, contracted writers and freelance writers, independent actors and singers, and traveling artists. If we win them over, they will become positive factors; if we fail, they might become negative factors. As society develops, there will be more such groups. People’s organizations must adapt to this trend, and work hard to earn their trust rather than excluding or alienating them.

“A rigid system is not able to respond to myriad changes, a single road will not lead to multiple destinations, and a sword lost in a river will not be found by leaving a mark on the boat.” In response to the greater population mobility and changing distribution, people’s organizations must adjust their setup accordingly. You should consolidate the existing foundations and expand your coverage into new sectors and New Social Groups so as to form a full-fledged organizational system for more effective coverage. Trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations should explore diverse and flexible ways to build an extensive network so that they can best meet people’s needs anywhere. For example, as rural migrant workers, a large population base, have become an important part among industrial workers, trade unions should work harder to attract them into the organization and make them a firm and reliable new force of the working class.

To maintain and strengthen their connection with the people, people’s organizations must put in place an improved and long-term mechanism to engage with the people. Maintaining close ties with the people is the eternal theme in developing people’s organizations. As Mao Zedong said, “We must not be bureaucratic in our methods of mobilizing the masses. Bureaucratic leadership cannot be tolerated in … our revolutionary work. The ugly evil of bureaucracy, which no comrade likes, must be thrown into the cesspit. The methods which all comrades should prefer are those that appeal to the masses, i.e., those which are welcomed by all workers and peasants.” Officials of people’s organizations and particularly those in the leading bodies should walk out of their office to meet people and conduct research at the grassroots, rather than spending all their time dealing with excessive administrative work. They should work at the grassroots to learn about people’s actual living conditions, becoming practitioners of the Party’s principle of serving the people, executers of the Party’s mass line, and experts in the Party’s work for the people. 

Officials of trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations should pay regular visits to the grassroots and make this a routine and part of their work requirements. They should spend most of their time with workers, young people, and women. They must not just make brief appearances or go with a large retinue. They must conduct more research at the grassroots and gather information first hand to help find solutions to problems that remain to be solved. When I was working in Fujian Province, I always managed to find time to meet people of all trades – farmers, drivers, cooks and pedicurists – and made friends with them. Officials of people’s organizations need to set up contacts at the grassroots and pair up with people in need to help them out. They should do their work in a way that is popular and accessible to the people, getting them involved in devising activities, assigning tasks, and granting awards.

To maintain and strengthen their connection with the people, people’s organizations must keep their attention locked on the grassroots. The leading bodies of people’s organizations should reform and improve their institutional setup, management, and operations. They must reduce structural redundancy to better adapt to the work at the grassroots and meet the people’s needs. Trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations should direct more attention to the people at the grassroots, and give more help to the grassroots in terms of service and resources. Leading bodies at the higher level should strengthen their units at lower levels in terms of the staffing and service resources by reducing their own staffing to expand that of those units. Public sectors at the county level may also adjust their staffing to supplement trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations. They should build a strong contingent of leading officials at the grassroots, ensure their incomes, and arouse their initiative. The grassroots people’s organizations should tap their own potential and find all possible resources to boost their overall performance at the grassroots with an extensive network.

Contacting and guiding relevant social organizations is an important mission of people’s organizations to serve as a bridge and bond between the Party and the people. Over the years, social organizations are developing rapidly and gaining influence. People’s organizations should extend their outreach and serve as an important channel for the Party to reach out to social organizations. From the experiences across the country, this can be done in multiple ways. One, by establishing social organizations themselves. People’s organizations may set up social organizations under their direct leadership in key fields and among different social groups. Two, through cooperation. Trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations can work together to set up social organizations. Three, by providing guidance. We can attract social organizations into working with people’s organizations and give them guidance on fulfilling their roles. Four, by filling gaps. We can establish grassroots units of people’s organizations such as trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, and women’s federations within social organizations where conditions permit. We will make these social organizations the network nodes of people’s organizations, and extend to all fields of society like blood capillaries in our body. We must not rush into this, but plan thoughtfully before acting. People’s organizations may launch pilot programs where conditions permit.

To maintain and strengthen their connection with the people, people’s organizations must attend to the broad coverage and representation of the people – two most important points. Without broad coverage and representation, you will not be able to attract and mobilize people from different groups and sectors to carry out your work. As people’s organizations, you should not have a too high proportion of elites. Otherwise, common people would find you unattainable. And if they are distancing from you, how will you reach out to them? As Zhuang Zi said, “If there is not enough deep water, big boats cannot float.”

People’s organizations should enroll more outstanding people from the general public. More common people, less elites. In designing the composition of the standing committee, committees, representatives, and general service staff, there should be a significant increase in the proportion of frontline personnel at the grassroots and a rational proportion of leading officials, entrepreneurs, and well-known figures. Prominent individuals or outstanding figures from all walks of life can make their contribution – and we should encourage it – but not necessarily only in people’s organizations. They can be active in many other places. This problem of representation should be solved step by step so that our people will bond with people’s organizations from the bottom of their hearts.

* Part of the speech at the Central Conference on the Party’s Work with People’s Organizations.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)